Omg what is this?!!!

[hejjo]

Checking out the tank at night like I do every so often and I see this monster worm!!!

It has like a patch of feathers on each segment on each side. It was partially hidden but what i could see was about 4-5 inches in length. No idea on the total length. It's width was about 3/4 inch. It scurried into the Rock as soon as it detected light.

Any idea what this is? I haven't had any mysterious problems in the tank so I'm hoping it's not something I need to find again and remove.

 

[hejjo]

 

[hejjo]

Is this a monster bristle worm? lol

 

[hejjo]

In the first pic u can see it has a color to it that I can only describe as chameleon lol

 

[justjes45]

Wow... I was going to guess bristle worm until I saw the pic... No idea! Weird!

 

[hejjo]

Oh man I hope it's not bad

 

[Anthony kolodziej]

Does it move ? Looks like a mantis molt .

 

[hejjo]

Yes it slowly traveled into the Rock.

 

[kschweer]

I would say it's a large bristle worm

 

[Tahoe61]

I would say that falls into the Fire Worm category, which is a type of Bristle Worm.

If it were in my tank I would just be cautious to avoid contact with it but other than that I would not intervene. That is totally up to you, could it eat inverts and perhaps go after the meaty foods you feed your corals, sure. I think it's pretty cool, but not everyone likes them.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

That's a common bristleworm. It's more than likely a Eurythoe complanata. their bristles will stick ya pretty easily, though, when compared to the smaller common ones.

 

[hejjo]

I had considered it was a type of bristle worm but had no idea they grew that large. Good to hear I don't have to hunt it down.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

These things are strong, however. I pull them out when I get the chance, but I don't chase after them. I first encountered them about 10 years ago when we were moving and taking the rock out of the tank. If you brush against them you are going to get poked. With the smaller red/orange variety, you can literally bounce them in your hand and they won't stick in. If you do get poked, dip your finger in some vinegar. When my husband got it, I was like "WAIT! Let me get the camera!".

 

[hejjo]

Ok good id rather leave it in there. Thank you for the tip! I think it's time to invest in some gloves :)